Tabatha L Castro

I hired Tabatha Castro to represent me in a highly sensitive custody matter involving my young child. I paid a $7,700 retainer with the expectation that urgent action would be taken to protect my child’s best interests. Unfortunately, that did not happen. During the entire period of representatio...n, no motions or filings were submitted on my behalf, not even after I raised serious concerns that required prompt legal intervention. I ultimately had to appear pro se at a critical hearing because nothing had been filed. Even the judge questioned why my attorney had not filed anything given the nature of the issues, and I had no explanation to offer. At an in-person meeting on 10/1/25, I provided detailed information, documentation, and videos related to my child’s disclosures and asked specifically about immediate steps, including returning my child to play therapy. Instead of addressing the immediate concerns, the focus remained on long-term strategy and “winning the case” at trial. No emergency motions were filed afterward, and no concrete action followed that meeting. The billing was also deeply troubling. I was charged over $3,000 largely for email correspondence, including emails sent within minutes of each other. I was additionally billed for an email that was drafted and sent during a two hour in person meeting for which I was already being charged at a premium hourly rate. The charges did not reasonably align with the time or substance of the work performed. After requesting termination of representation on 11/6, I was refunded $2,415, meaning the firm retained approximately $5,000 of my retainer despite having made no filings or taken meaningful legal action in my custody case. I later consulted with another attorney and received more clarity, guidance, and direction in a 30-minute consultation than I received during the entire period of representation with this firm. Given the stakes involved in custody cases especially those involving child safety, I would strongly caution others to carefully consider their options before retaining this firm. My experience lacked of urgency, tangible legal work, and billing that did not reflect results.